December 11, 2024 • by Scoreboard / Photography: Sooner Sports
In recognition of his stellar career in college golf, Oklahoma Head Coach Ryan Hybl was officially inducted at the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception & Awards Dinner last night, Tuesday December 10, in Las Vegas.
After a storied playing career at Georgia, Hybl rejoined 2012 GCAA Hall of Famer Chris Haack as an assistant coach in 2005 to begin his coaching career. In his four seasons on staff (2005-09), the Bulldogs captured 18 team wins, featuring the 2006 and 2009 SEC Championship and 2008 NCAA East Regional, and made the NCAA Championship each year.
In Athens, Hybl coached 18 All-America selections, including 2006 SEC Player of the Year and 2007 Ben Hogan Award winner Chris Kirk. He also guided 12 First Team All-SEC honorees, three players who each competed in two Arnold Palmer Cups, three Walker Cup participants, and three consecutive SEC Freshman of the Year recipients. PGA TOUR winners Kirk, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Kevin Kisner, Harris English, Brendon Todd, and Hudson Swafford encompassed 14 of those 18 All-America honors.
Hybl was hired as head coach at Oklahoma on June 22, 2009. He was 27 years old and the Sooners were ranked outside the top 100 at the time.
In his 15-plus seasons in Norman, he has turned the program back into a national powerhouse. The Sooners have recorded the top 14 single-season scoring averages in program history and made 13 continuous NCAA Championship appearances, highlighted by capturing the program’s second national championship in 2017.
With Oklahoma winning two of their three 2024-25 tournaments so far, Hybl has coached a program-record 46 tournament wins, including three Big 12 Championships (2018, below, 2022, 2023) and four NCAA Regional titles (2015, 2018, 2022, 2024).
He has also earned the 2022 Dave Williams National Coach of the Year Award, a 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup Team USA Head Coach selection, and two Big 12 Coach of the Years (2018, 2021) while guiding 30 All-America selections and the 2022 Jack Nicklaus Award honoree (Chris Gotterup) at Oklahoma.
The 2021 Jan Strickland Outstanding Assistant Coach Award recipient (Bill Allcorn) was on Hybl’s staff, and five former players have received their PGA TOUR cards. Hybl has served on the GCAA National Advisory Board among other national committees.
The Colbert, Ga. native was the 1998 AJGA Player of the Year, and the top-ranked junior golfer by Golfweek coming out of Madison County High School in 2000. He earned numerous accolades at Georgia, including two All-America selections, two Southeastern Conference (SEC) team championships, helping Team USA win the 2002 Arnold Palmer Cup, and being named team captain both of his final two years.
Academically, Hybl received the Howell Hollis Award three times for having the top GPA on his team before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sports science in 2004. A 2003 GCAA All-America Scholar, he also earned the Joel Eaves and Dick Bestwick Awards for being the male student-athlete with the highest GPA as a senior and graduating senior, respectively, as well as an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.